ATHENS — The first round of the College Football Playoffs has arrived like a Holiday fruitcake.

There are lots of good ingredients, but no one seems sure how good this will actually be?

The 12-team playoff will, by contract, expects to be around in this form through the 2025 season and its accompanying postseason on account of contractual obligations.

It seems a certainty college football will have to tinker with this playoff recipe.

College football will have a chance for a do-over starting with the start of the 2026 season, when the lessons learned from this year can be applied.

First-round, on-campus games seemed like a great idea.

But with cold weather factored in at three of the four host sites, and 100,000-seat-plus stadiums to fill on short notice, some are having second thoughts.

Coaches have already attacked the validity of rewarding byes to the top four-ranked conference champions.

The current structure was likely a concession to get everyone on board, but now that expanded playoffs are rolling, changes can and will be justified by money, common sense, or both.

Indeed, what’s wrong with giving byes to the four best teams, instead?

And, instead of having a rotating panel of 13, ahem, “experts,” picking the order of the teams behind closed doors, why not rely on a more scientific method?

College football could come up with a system where it factors in strength of schedule mixed with polls conducted among several active coaches and media members who follow the sport intently for a living.

You know, the BCS formula?

There will be no quick fix or easy solution, because the game itself is fluid, changing each season as the rules get adjusted amid a decidedly more professional sports atmosphere that includes unlimited free agency and extended eligibility clocks.

For now, college is what it is, and even when modifications are applied in two years, there are still going to be some people who aren’t going to like it.

But millions will watch it, and to this point, bowl games are still holding their place in the college football lineup and serving a purpose.

Now, about those teams they will be watching …

Indiana at Notre Dame (-7), 8 p.m. Friday, ABC

The Fighting Irish landed the No. 7 seed despite an embarrassing 16-14 loss to a Northern Illinois team that finished 7-5, in seventh-place in the Mid-American Conference.

Indiana, a surprising 11-1 under first-year head coach Curt Cignetti, will look to prove it belongs as most point to the Hoosiers’ 38-15 loss at Ohio State more than any of IU’s victories.

The weather forecast calls for temperatures in the Mid-20s at kickoff with an 11 mph wind and a chance for snow flurries.

The winner earns a trip to play Georgia in the Sugar Bowl at 8:45 p.m. on Jan. 1 in New Orleans.

SMU at Penn State (-8.5), Noon Saturday, TNT

The Nittany Lions are coming off a 45-37 loss to No. 1-ranked Oregon in the Big Ten Championship Game, making coach James Franklin 0-12 vs. Top 5-ranked teams.

Beating SMU, however, would qualify as a “Big” win if for no other reason than it would advance No. 6-seed Penn State into the Dec. 31 Fiesta Bowl against Mountain West Conference champ Boise State.

The No. 11-seed Mustangs, runners-up in the ACC after a last-second loss to Clemson, featuring exciting dual-threat quarterback Kevin Jennings under center and versatile back Brashard Smith, who has 1,270 yards and 14 TDs rushing, and another 303 yards and 4 TDs receiving,

The weather forecast in State College, Pa., calls for a high of 27 degrees and 15 mph winds on Saturday.

Clemson at Texas (-12), 4 p.m. Saturday, TNT

Everything is bigger in Texas, including the betting line for this first-round matchup between programs that will meet for the first time on the gridiron.

The No. 5-seed Longhorns will hope to get off to a fast start to avoid quarterback controversy, as 2025 Heisman Trophy favorite Arch Manning is waiting in the wings to take over for starter Quinn Ewers.

The Tigers, meanwhile, have the satisfaction of making the CFP despite two-time national championship coach Dabo Swinney being widely criticized for not embracing a transfer-portal mentality.

The winner of this game earns a trip to the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta to face Big 12 champ Arizona State, the No. 4 seed by virtue of CFP guidelines ordering that the top four-ranked conference champions earn byes.

Tennessee at Ohio State (-7.5), 8 p.m., ABC

Ryan Day’s job could be on the line when the Buckeyes host the Vols in a battle of teams that slipped into the CFP without appearing in a conference championship game.

Power football looks to be the order of the day as temperatures are forecasted to dip into the low 20s as the teams meet under the lights in the “Shoe.”

The winner advances to face No. 1 Oregon on Jan. 1 in the Rose Bowl.